Risk, Emotion, and Reason: Postscript to the Red Book
The National Research Council's "Red Book" made many contributions to the field of risk analysis. This paper follows the evolution of contributions related to exposure assessment and hazard identification. The first is a brief history of the development of multiple pathway exposure assessments, and an appreciation of the fact that food could be a major pathway of exposure to global pollution. The second is the continuing evolution of our concept of what are the toxicological consequences of exposure to environmental chemicals. Current research indicates that the biochemistry of the brain greatly influences our emotions and how we make decisions. This recent research raises two questions: (1) Can these same techniques be used to investigate how brain biochemistry affects risk-related decision-making, including risk perception and risk communication? (2) Given that behavior, perceptions, and decision-making have a biochemical basis, might not exposure to environmental chemicals have an influence on our minds, our feelings, and our very perception of the world? risk analysisdecision-makingRed BookemotionreasonNational Research Council.
Keywords: National Research Council; Red Book; decision-making; emotion; reason; risk analysis
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: Quest Technologies, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Publication date: 01 September 2003
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